Tobacco reclaiming method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

Tobacco is reclaimed from cigarettes by a method which includes first radially compressing the tobacco in the cigarette wrapper and subsequently blowing the compressed tobacco out of the wrapper.

United States Patent Di Ianni et a1.

[ 1 Sept. 11, 1973 TOBACCO RECLAIMING METHOD AND APPARATUS Inventors:Daniel Di Ianni, Toronto,

Ontario; Warren A. Brackmann, Cooksville, Ontario, both of CanadaAssignee: Rothmans 0f Pall Mall Canada Limited, Ontario, Canada Filed:Jan. 26, 1972 Appl. No.: 220,969

US. Cl. 131/96 Int. Cl. A24c 05/36 Field of Search 131/96 ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS Perrin 131/96 12/1930 Lorentz 131/136 9/1963Di lanni 131/96 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell AssistantExaminer-John F. Pitrelli Attarney-Peter W. McBurney [57] ABSTRACTTobacco is reclaimed from cigarettes by a method which includes firstradially compressing the tobacco in the cigarette wrapper andsubsequently blowing the compressed tobacco out of the wrapper.

11 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures TOBACCO RECLAIMING METHOD AND APPARATUSThis invention relates to the reclaiming of tobacco from cigarettes.

In the manufacture of cigarettes, it is extremely desirable from aconsumer acceptance point of view to market only cigarettes containingquantities of tobacco between narrow limits. Due to inconsistencies inquantities of tobacco in the stream from which the cigarettes aremanufactured, some cigarettes are produced which contain less or moretobacco than the desired amount, and hence are not acceptable as aconsumer product. These cigarettes are rejected and only thosecigarettes containing the standard amount are packaged for sale to theconsumer.

The rejected cigarettes contain valuable quantities of tobacco which inthe interests of economy should be reclaimed. The present invention isconcerned with a process for the reclaiming of tobacco from the rejectedcigarettes and to apparatus for practising such method.

There have been several prior art proposals to recover tobacco from suchcigarettes. Generally, such prior art systems have'involved shredding ofthe cigarettes and subsequently recovering the tobacco from the shreds.This process suffers. from the disadvantage that the tobacco is brokenup thereby damaging its filling power on subsequent recycle. It is, ofcourse, possible to recover tobacco manually from cigarettes carefullyso that little or no damage is done to the tobacco. However, in themodern cigarette manufacturing plant it is necessary to accomplish thisoperation with speed.

In the present invention tobacco is recovered from cigarettes byinitially subjecting the cigarette to radial compression alongsubstantially the length of the wrapper and subsequently ejectingtobacco from the wrapper using air under pressure. By initiallycompressing the tobacco in the wrapper, removal of tobacco from thecigarettes without impairing the filling power of the tobacco may bereadily achieved.

The invention is described further by way of illustration with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus for use in the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

A tobacco reclaiming apparatus includes a first fluted cylindrical wheel12 and a second fluted cylindrical wheel 14 both mounted for rotation insubstantially the same vertical plane.

The flutes 16 on the first wheel 12 of generally semicircularcross-section, extend transversely the face 18 of the wheel 12. The face18, and hence flutes 16, generally has a length which is that of acigarette. The flutes 16 are shaped to receive therewithin a singlecigarette with approximately half of the diameter of the cigaretteextending above the face 18. Cigarettes are fed to the wheel 12 in anyconvenient manner typically by the use of a hopper 20.

The flutes 22 on the second wheel 14 extend transverse the face 24 ofthe wheel 12 and as illustrated include two parts. The first part 26, ofsemicircular shape, is located adjacent one end of the flutes 22 and thesecond part 28 constitutes the remainder of the flute 22.

The wheels 12 and 14 are driven in opposite directions as indicated bythe arrows. The wheels may be driven in any convenient manner, such asby a single motor or by separate motors as desired. The peripheries ofthe wheels 12 and 14 have a. point of nearest approach 30 at which pointthe flutes l6 and 22 cooperate to define a recess 32. At one end of therecess 32 is located a source of air pressure 34, typically an airstream directed at opening 36 and an air feed pipe 38. Any otherconvenient source of air pressure may be employed.

At the opposite end of the recess 32 is located a tobacco receiving pipe40, which receives reclaimed tobacco and the tobacco may be recycled inany convenient manner to manufacture cigarettes.

Cigarettes from which tobacco is desired to be reclaimed are fed to thehopper 20 and upon rotation of the wheel 12 the cigarettes areindividually captured by the flutes 16 and conveyed towards the point30.

Between the hopper 20 and the point of nearest approach 30 is located astar wheel 42 which has teeth 44 of substantially the length of thecigarette wrapper. The star wheel 42 is rotated in any convenient mannerso that the wrapper of each successive cigarette in the flutes 16 issubjected to radial compression by one of the teeth 44 substantiallyalong the length thereof.

The present invention is particuzarly directed to the reclaiming oftobacco from filter-tipped cigarettes. Usually the teeth 44 engage andcompress only the wrapped portion of the cigarette and do not engage thefilter portion. Generally, for maximum efficiency, the teeth 44 subjectsubstantially the complete longitudinal length of the wrapped portion ofthe cigarette to radial compression. However, in certain instances theradial compression may be applied over only a portion of the length ofthe cigarette.

The radial compression may be applied at any other desired location orin any other desiree manner. Tobacco is compressable but has a longrecovery time and the radial compression applied by the process of theinvention has the effect of detaching tobacco from the inner wall of thewrapper, which assumes its original shape upon release of thecompression. The tobacco, however, does not regain its normal shape fora period of time, which is greater than 1 minute. Further, the fillingpower of the tobacco in the cigarette is not impaired upon recovery.

The cigarettes after radial compression, such as by the star wheel 42,are conveyed in the flutes until they successively reach the point 30.At this point, the individual cigarette 46 (FIG. 2) is enclosed withinthe recess 32. The filter portion of the cigarette, positioned adjacentthe end of the recess 32 opposite the source of air pressure 34, isgripped between the flute 16 and the first part 26 of the flute 22 tohold the cigarette against longitudinal movement.

' The arrangement within the recess 32, as illustrated, represents onlyone way in which the cigarette 46 may be held against longitudinalmovement within the recess 32. The arrangement illustrated, however, hasthe advantage that the cigarette tubes are readily discharged uponfurther rotation of the wheels 12 and 14.

At the point 30 air is blown against the filter end of the cigarette 46discharging substantially all of the tobacco from within the wrapper ofthe cigarette into the receiving pipe 40. Upon continued rotation of thewheel 12 and 14 the empty tube upon release of the grip upon the filterfalls onto a moving conveyor 48 which transportsthe empty tube to anydesired collection area.

It has been found that by pre-compression of the tobacco within thecigarette wrapper tobacco may be recovered in reusable form with aminimum loss of filling power from both underweight and overweightcigarettes, as well as cigarettes with other limited faults.

Due to the excess quantity of tobacco in overweight cigarettes there isa tendency for the wrapper of these cigarettes to burst upon applicationof the air pressure, with consequent damage to tobacco and thepossibility of contamination by paper debris. To inhibit this tendencyin these and other cigarettes the recess 32 extends the length of thecigarette. However, it is possible to proceed satisfactorily withoutsuch a complete enclosure. The process may be practised with the fluteson the wheel 14 consisting solely of the illustrated parts 26, so thatsuch parts cooperate with the flutes 16 to grip the filter end of thecigarette, with the remainder of the cigarette not enclosed.

Alternatively, the flutes 22 may be constricted so that in the recess 32substantially the whole length of the cigarette may be contacted duringblowing.

While the present invention is applicable mainly to filter-tippedcigarettes which are overweight or underweight, but otherwisefunctionally sound, the invention also may be employed to recoverreusable tobacco from functionally unsound cigarettes, typically thosehaving air leaks, although in this case the success rate may be lessthan 100 percent, depending on the nature and extent of thedeficiencies. Further, the present invention may be used to recovertobacco from untipped cigarettes.

The pressure applied to the filter end of cigarette 46 may very over awide range. The pressure and quantity of the air should be at leastsufficient to expel substantially the whole of the tobacco from thewrapper through the open end. Typically, a value of 40 psi issatisfactory.

The speed of operation of the apparatus described above may vary. Themaximum speed of operation is that above which at the chosen pressure ofair all of the tobacco is not expelled from the wrapper before thecigarette is transported out of the path of the air jet.

The empty tubes recovered by the conveyor 48 may be discarded or sold toconsumers who wish to fill their own filter cigarettes.

The present invention therefore provides a process wherein tobacco isreclaimed from cigarettes without detriment to the filling power of thetobacco and the process may be carried out at speed.

Modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A method of removing tobacco from the tubular open-ended wrapper of acigarette, which comprises the steps of subjecting tobacco in waidwrapper to a radially compressive force, to provide radially compressedtobacco within said wrapper, releasing the radially compressive force,and directing air under pressure axially against the radially compressedtobacco within said wrapper while said tobacco remains radiallycompressed and while holding the wrapper against lengthwise movement,the air being directed in sufficient quantity and under sufficientpressure toward an open end of the wrapper to expel substantially thewhole of the tobacco from the wrapper through said open end.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said cigarette is filter-tipped andincluding gripping the filter tip to hold said wrapper againstlengthwise movement.

3. The method of claim 2 including gripping said filter tip bycooperating faces engaging the outer surface of the filter tip.

4. The method of claim 1 including directing said air under pressure atone end of said cigarette so that said radially compressed tobacco isexpelled from the opposite end of said cigarette.

5. The method of claim 2 including directing said air under pressurelongitudinally through said filter tip against the tobacco within thewrapper.

6. The method of claim 1 including enclosing said cigarette within achamber during the directing of said air.

7. An apparatus for removing tobacco from the tubular open-ended wrapperof a cigarette, which comprises compressing means to subject tobaccowithin individual cigarettes to radial compression for a predeterminedperiod of time, a source of air under pressure, holding means separatefrom said compressing means for holding individual cigarettes in thepath of an axial stream of air from said source wherein air underpressure is directed axially against the radially compressed tobacco inthe wrapper after the termination of said predetermined period of timewhile the wrapper is held against lengthwise movement, collecting meansto receive tobacco ejected from said cigarette and conveying means toconvey said cigarette first to said compressing means and subsequentlyto said holding means.

8. An apparatus for removing and recovering tobacco from the tubularopen-ended wrapper of a cigarette comprising a hopper containing aplurality of cigarettes from which tobacco is to be recovered, a firstwheel rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis having a flutedperiphery whereby individual cigarettes may be received from said hopperin flutes and conveyed thereby, compressing means located adjacent saidfirst wheel and arranged to subject tobacco, in each cigarette whilepositioned in a flute to radial compression substantially along thelongitudinal length of the cigarette for a predetermined period of time,a source of air pressure, air stream forming means in communication withsaid source of air pressure and located adjacent the periphery of thewheel at a position arcuately removed from said hopper and saidcompressing means, holding means associated successively with each flutefor holding each cigarette successively in the path of said air streamwhereby said radially compressed tobacco is expelled substantiallycompletely from said wrapper through said open-end of said cigarette andsaid wrapper is held against longitudinal movement during saidexpelling, and collecting means to collect tobacco expelled from eachcigarette.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said holding means includes a secondwheel rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis and having afluted periphery, the flutes of the periphery of said second wheelcooperating at the point of nearest approach of the peripheries of thetwo wheels with the flutes of the periphery of said first wheel toprovide a recess holding the cigarette at one end while tobacco isexpelled from the other.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said recess extends the length ofthe cigarette.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said compressthe first wheelwhereby individual cigarettes are coming means comprises a rotor havinga plurality of radial pressed between a cooperating pair of spokes andspokes of lateral dimension substantially the length of flutes.

a cigarette to cooperate with flutes in the periphery of

1. A method of removing tobacco from the tubular open-ended wrapper of acigarette, which comprises the steps of subjecting tobacco in waidwrapper to a radially compressive force, to provide radially compressedtobacco within said wrapper, releasing the radially compressive force,and directing air under pressure axially against the radially compressedtobacco within said wrapper while said tobacco remains radiallycompressed and while holding the wrapper against lengthwise movement,the air being directed in sufficient quantity and under sufficientpressure toward an open end of the wrapper to expel substantially thewhole of the tobacco from the wrapper through said open end.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said cigarette is filter-tipped and includinggripping the filter tip to hold said wrapper against lengthwisemovement.
 3. The method of claim 2 including gripping said filter tip bycooperating faces engaging the outer surface of the filter tip.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 including directing said air under pressure at one endof said cigarette so that said radially compressed tobacco is expelledfrom the opposite end of said cigarette.
 5. The method of claim 2including directing said air under pressure longitudinally through saidfilter tip against the tobacco within the wrapper.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 including enclosing said cigarette within a chamber during thedirecting of said air.
 7. An apparatus for removing tobacco from thetubular open-ended wrapper of a cigarette, which comprises compressingmeans to subject tobacco within individual cigarettes to radialcompression for a predetermined period of time, a source of air underpressure, holding means separate from said compressing means for holdingindividual cigarettes in the path of an axial stream of air from saidsource wherein air under pressure is directed axially against Theradially compressed tobacco in the wrapper after the termination of saidpredetermined period of time while the wrapper is held againstlengthwise movement, collecting means to receive tobacco ejected fromsaid cigarette and conveying means to convey said cigarette first tosaid compressing means and subsequently to said holding means.
 8. Anapparatus for removing and recovering tobacco from the tubularopen-ended wrapper of a cigarette comprising a hopper containing aplurality of cigarettes from which tobacco is to be recovered, a firstwheel rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis having a flutedperiphery whereby individual cigarettes may be received from said hopperin flutes and conveyed thereby, compressing means located adjacent saidfirst wheel and arranged to subject tobacco, in each cigarette whilepositioned in a flute to radial compression substantially along thelongitudinal length of the cigarette for a predetermined period of time,a source of air pressure, air stream forming means in communication withsaid source of air pressure and located adjacent the periphery of thewheel at a position arcuately removed from said hopper and saidcompressing means, holding means associated successively with each flutefor holding each cigarette successively in the path of said air streamwhereby said radially compressed tobacco is expelled substantiallycompletely from said wrapper through said open-end of said cigarette andsaid wrapper is held against longitudinal movement during saidexpelling, and collecting means to collect tobacco expelled from eachcigarette.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said holding meansincludes a second wheel rotatable about a substantially horizontal axisand having a fluted periphery, the flutes of the periphery of saidsecond wheel cooperating at the point of nearest approach of theperipheries of the two wheels with the flutes of the periphery of saidfirst wheel to provide a recess holding the cigarette at one end whiletobacco is expelled from the other.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 whereinsaid recess extends the length of the cigarette.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 8 wherein said compressing means comprises a rotor having aplurality of radial spokes of lateral dimension substantially the lengthof a cigarette to cooperate with flutes in the periphery of the firstwheel whereby individual cigarettes are compressed between a cooperatingpair of spokes and flutes.